Star in the Dark
by Mysterious Prophetess
Summary: Iris frowned at the little plastic stick in her hands. Positive. Fan-freaking-tastic. Gladio was either going to kill her or—nope he was going to kill her. - Iris met Noctis a few days before the guys showed up. A few days before his death. Now, she was facing a scary new beginning.


Iris frowned at the little plastic stick in her hands. Positive. Fan-freaking-tastic. Gladio was either going to kill her or—nope he was going to kill her. Nevermind the fact she was a twenty-five-year-old adult woman with adult woman urges, he still saw that seven-year-old girl who got lost in the Citadel with her bunny needing to be rescued by—. That's when the tears started. Once they started, they didn't stop.

* * *

One Month Previous

"It's Iris the Slayer!" Iris was used to people reacting to her presence. She'd made her name for herself in the ten years of darkness after…

"Iris, is that really you?" Her heart stopped. She could face down Necromancers and Iron Giants now without even getting nervous, but the sound of a voice from her past was making her act like a teenager. She turned her head. The face was older, naturally it had been ten years, and partly covered by a scraggly beard and the shaggy hair but she knew those eyes and that voice.

"Noctis!" She flung her arms around his neck. He returned the hug gently.

"You really have gotten strong." Iris let go, stepped back, and gave him a "look," "Talcott told me about you." Talcott. He'd grown up so fast.

"I had to. Cor didn't go easy on me just because I was Gladio's kid sister," Iris said, "Speaking of, I don't know where he is right now."

"Cor said he'd round up the guys for me, but it would take a few days for them to get here," Noctis admitted.

"Well, in that case, would you like to share a fire with me?" Iris asked. She nearly cursed how awkward she sounded, but a childhood crush being back from the dead would make things awkward.

* * *

"That was delicious, did Iggy teach you how to cook?" Noctis said after he finished the simple dinner she'd made.

"Yeah, actually. He tried to teach Gladdy and Prompto too, but those two could burn water." Noctis laughed a little, the sound was rough but it was genuine making Iris smile broadly.

"Here, got these on a raid into the Crown City a year ago, and I've been saving them for a rainy day," Iris held out a bottle of beer from a six pack she'd almost magically produced.

"How is this still any good?" Noctis asked taking a bottle.

"Gladdy thinks that whoever's stash we stole them from had been some sort of crazy collector and made sure his beer would stay cold no matter what. The fridge was powered by an energy deposit," Iris said clinking her bottle against Noctis's before drinking deeply. It might have been the comforting atmosphere or the beer loosening her tongue a little, but she let something she'd kept guarded slip.

"You know, I had the most ridiculous crush on you back then!"

"Really?" Noctis blinked at her through his bangs and Iris fought off the blush by downing more beer.

"Yep. Completely ridiculous, started after you took the fall for me when I got lost, and went from childish admiration to a full blown crush by the time I was twelve," Iris said, "Gladdy only teased me a little about it, when he found out, but he probably assumed I grew out of it like the rest of my classmates."

"You classmates?" Noctis sounded distinctly horrified.

"You're hot. Even now with all this scruffle and untamed hair, but to a bunch of teenagers, you were the unattainable dreamboat. I knew a girl who was so certain she would catch your eye and marry you, that she would practice being Queen." Iris snorted at the memory, "Oh, that was mean wasn't it." Noctis was just staring at her.

"Anyway, yeah, I just learned to not be as obvious about it whenever the girls moved on to another target, some pop singer from Accordo, I think," Iris chucked her bottle into the fire. She grabbed a second bottle and tossed Noctis a second when she saw him also toss his bottle into the fire.

"Ugh, I remember that. Liebe-Fever. Even the girls in my high school were gushing over him Wasn't he like twelve or something?" Noctis remarked.

"I don't know. I've heard rumors he's in Lestallum, but pretty boy pop-stars aren't really worth getting worked up over anymore in a post-apocalyptic world, I guess," Iris said.

"What about pretty boy kings?" Noctis asked. Iris spat out her beer. He was teasing her!

"W-well, you can actually fight and-and you have magic, so you'd probably still be a big deal," Iris sputtered. Crap. At this rate he was going to figure out that the "crush" wasn't past tense after all. She wanted to die. There were plenty of daemons who'd love to fulfill that wish too—.

"I guess, but why would I want someone who'd only care about me being hot?" Noctis's voice cut through her thoughts.

"True, you never seemed to care about that stuff, before…everything." Never even noticed I had a crush on you, never noticed anyone's crush on you.

"I just…never really noticed. I think Gladio was trying to play wingman a few times. Remember those flowers I gave you? He made it sound like he wanted to get them for you but wanted my help to pick them," Noctis said. Iris still had that bouquet, pressed of course and carefully preserved. Oh, Gladdy, always trying to make his baby sister happy.

"I should have known, but they made me really happy," Iris said. Silence reigned a bit.

"Is there anyone in your life right now?" Noctis said.

"It's not exactly been easy to date anyone, with the apocalypse and all. I…never found the right guy," Iris said. Noctis was silent after that revelation.

"I think I never even bothered to look for the right girl," Noctis said, "I mean…I had Luna, sort of, and I guess I knew that I couldn't hope to be lucky like my dad was." When had she gotten closer to him? Iris shrugged it off.

"I know, Daddy, before the Fall, was always talking about me making a good match when I got married to strengthen the Amicitia name, even though Gladdy pretty much told Daddy that I wasn't marrying some pansy because of pedigree. "She's not a dog you can breed" he'd say, but it made it hard for me to want to get attached to anyone."

"And you'd never know if they were really into you or your title." Their faces were closer together now. If Iris wanted to, she could grab his face and kiss him. Oy, that was enough beer for the night.

"We should stop before we do anything we regret," Iris forced herself to say.

"I won't regret this if you won't."

"Never." The distance was closed and it was exactly as her fifteen-year-old self had hoped it would be like and so much more.

* * *

Present

Four days after that night, Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto had arrived and Cor had radioed her about a surge of monsters in Lestallum forcing her to give Noctis a slightly teary farewell. Then she got the call, after the Dawn returned, that Noctis was gone. This time for real.

"Dude! It was so freaking weird!" Iris looked up hiding the test and wiping her face off like she hadn't been bawling.

"Hey, how's reclaiming Insomnia going?" she asked.

"So, there we were, cleaning up the area nearest the Citadel when all of a sudden a wild-mutated behemoth appeared. I reached for my guns and began firing away. After a while, I realized I hadn't needed to reload the gun! It was like I had my sword-sworn bond back!" Prompto said, "Then that guy manages to summon a shield we thought was lost with Noct's magic!"

"It's definitely weird," Gladio said.

"The only way for our powers to return is if there was an heir to the throne," Ignis said, "But, Noctis was the last of his line and had never had any sort of liaisons with women like that."

"Iris? Have you been…..crying?" Gladio went into protective big brother mode, even though Iris could drop a grown man with minimal effort. She'd hoped to put this off but she took a shaky breath and held up the pregnancy test with a barely trembling hand, positive result facing them.

"You're pregnant?" Gladio said. Iris nodded mutely. Gladio's reaction shocked her. He got teary eyed and gently hugged her before the tears managed to escape his eyes a little, which he quickly wiped away.

"I thought you'd be pissed I got pregnant out of wedlock?" Iris said.

"Do ya think I really give a damn about that? Especially now in a world that's barely rebuilding?" Gladio looked so pleased that he was going to be an Uncle. It gave Iris the courage to tell them the rest of the news.

"I-I know why your powers are back. The baby….the baby is Noct's," Iris said. In all her years of life, Iris had never seen peoples jaws look like they were going to hit the floor until that very moment with the trio before her. Even Ignis, the ever composed, was shocked.

"That's great!" Prompto was the first to recover.

"A new Dawn, a new life," Ignis said.

"We'll be with you every step of the way," Gladio said hugging her again. Iris returned the hug,

"Thanks Gladdy. You're going to be the best Uncle ever."

"I know, right?"

* * *

MP: So, I did a Kinkmeme.


End file.
